Expecting the Unexpected
by notsomuch
Summary: One moment can change everything. When a lifechanging event brings them closer together, Casey and Derek need to figure out their feelings for one another before things get reeeeally complicated. Dasey.
1. Chapter 1

So, this is not only my first attempt at a LWD story, but also my first attempt at a multi-chapter story. I hope it works out. My first chapter turned out radically different than i anticipated, and I hope I didn't screw myself up. We'll see.

Please review and let me know what you think!

* * *

"Derek, if you do not come down here right now, we are going to be late!" Casey McDonald shouted up the stairs to her stepbrother. "I know you don't really care about missing class, but some of us would actually like to graduate on time."

"Yeah, alright, I hear you" Derek shouted back, glaring at her as he thundered down the stairs. He grabbed his leather jacket from the back ofthe chair and walked right past her, slamming the front door in her face.

Casey growled and opened the door, stalked through it, and slammed it even louder behind her. "Thanks for holding the door for me Derek. Such manners!"

"Hey, you're lucky I even agreed to cart your sorry ass to school. I think you can handle the door yourself." Derek answered, throwing on his jacket, unlocking the doors, and climbing in. Casey managed to jump in as he started to pull away.

They stewed in their angry silence, a morning ritual, as they drove towards the school. But as always, the silence didn't last for long.

"Derek, you're driving like a maniac! Are you trying to get us killed!"

"Hey, do you want to get to school on time or not? I wouldn't want you to miss a single precious second of biology or geography or whatever the hell it is you're so excited to learn today."

She answered in protest, and continued to yell and lecture at him for the next 5 minutes. He didn't hear a word of it, though. He had learned long ago it was best to just tune her out. So he drove as she lectured. She was getting herself so worked up he didn't think she even knew he was there anymore.

He saw the car before she did, but there wasn't enough time.

"Hold on, Casey"

She turned at his sudden interruption, and followed his eyes through the windshield to the red pick-up truck barreling towards them at full speed. Her breath caught in her throat, and all she could think was, "I've never been in a car accident before." It seemed like hours before the truck actually made impact, but it must have only been seconds, because Derek didn't have any time to avoid it. The truck smashed into the front bumper on her side, throwing the car backwards across the other lane of traffic.

Derek felt like he was watching a movie, as the truck crept up on them, crushing the hood of the Blazer, slamming the steering column into his chest. He felt the shards of glass from the windshield rain on top of them, before the airbag exploded in his face. He watched as the car lurched backwards, sending them into oncoming traffic, and watched as the morning's garbage truck barreled towards his window, wondering if that would be the grand finale.

But the car continued to roll backwards, until the weight shifted and it suddenly tipped backwards, landing them nose up in a ditch off the side of the road.

And then everything was quiet. It was shocking how quiet it was. He hadn't realized how loud Casey's ranting was, how loud the impact had been, and the crushing metal and the shatterering glass and the squealing tires and the blaring horns. How loud his own blood had been pounding in his hears, until it all stopped.

"Casey." He broke the silence. "Casey, are you okay? Casey, talk to me." He pushed the deflating airbag out of the way to get to her. He saw the blood first, trickling out of her ear. He gently turned her face towards his. He saw her eyes staring, unfocused, and his heart stopped. "Casey!" he said again, his voice breaking.

She blinked once and he could have cried. "Casey are you okay?" She focused her eyes on his, and slowly nodded.

He started talking, then, and couldn't stop. "It's alright Casey, you'll be fine, we'll be fine. I'll take care of it, we'll be fine." He tried opening his door, but it was impossible, as gravity was working against him, and he couldn't manoeuver around the steering column. He slid from under it the other way, towards Casey. She had leaned over onto the passenger side window, still staring straight ahead. Derek saw the cracks spiderwebbing across the glass, and pulled her towards him. "Casey, come on, talk to me. Are you okay?" She nodded again. "Casey, please talk to me, please. Why won't you talk to me?" Derek asked, getting slightly hysterical.

She focused on him again, and after a moment, said softly, "I'm okay."

He let out a bit of a hysterical laugh and kissed her on the forehead. "Okay that's all I needed to hear. I'm getting us out of here. You don't wanna be late for school, right?" he let out another awkward burst of nervous laughter.

He brought his feet up onto the seat with him, scattering broken glassin the process. Slowly and tentatively, he stood up on the seat, through the gap where the windshield should have been. He looked around to survey their surroundings, and how they were going to get out of there. He looked up to the road at the sound of a voice.

"Are you kids alright?" asked a frazzled looking man peering into the ditch at them, running his hand through his thinning hair. He went on, not even giving Derek time to answer, "I must've fallen asleep. I work nights, and I must've driven this route a million times. I could do it with my eyes closed! I mean- no, I mean, obviously I can't, that's not what I meant. I work nights, though, and I was just on my way home, and I must've fallen asleep for a second! Are- are you kids alright?"

"We're fine." Derek answered. "We're okay."

"Good, good, great! That's great. I- I already called 911, they should be arriving any second now. Your car's pretty banged up, are you sure you're alright?"

Derek ignored the man's rambling as he crouched back down inside the car to talk to Casey. "Alright, I'm gonna get you out of here. We've got a bit of a climb ahead of us, but it shouldn't be that bad. Can you stand up?" She answered him with the same hollow eyes. "Alright, don't worry, I've got you, it'll be fine." He balanced himself on the center console and his seat, gently put his arm around her to pull her out. Her airbag hadn't deflated as much as his, so he was having trouble seeing exactly what the damage was to her side of the car. He slowly maneuvered her inch by inch, watching her face for any sign that he was hurting her. He felt some resistance, just has her face crumbled and she let out a whimper.

Derek panicked "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Are you alright? I'm sorry, don't worry, I'm sorry." He set her back down gently, before attacking the air bag to get it out of his way, so he could see the damage. He managed to crawl underneath it, and saw what he was up against. The whole front panel had been crushed into Casey's legs. They were cut pretty badly, and bleeding, but she seemed to be in one piece. Nothing looked broken. But her left foot was pretty badly wedged under the console. He grabbed her shoe, and slowly maneuvered it out.

He climbed back up onto his seat, and looked at her again. She was watching him now. "Alright, I think I got you un-stuck. Are you ready to try it again?" She nodded.

He snaked his arm around her back again, and pulled, even slower this time. He met no resistance this time, but seeing her legs torn and bloody made his stomach drop.

"Oh god, Casey." He said, without even thinking. He was afraid to put her down, he didn't want her standing on her own. So he took her in his arms and lifted her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and put her chin on his shoulder. It wasn't until now that he realized she was shaking, and that scared him more than anything.

He stood up slowly, balancing on his seat. He took a tentative step onto the hood of the car; now they were both out of the car. He took another, and another, over the crumpled hood, and out of the ravine. It wasn't until he climbed out that he noticed the crowd of people that were gathered there, watching them. Someone tried to take Casey from him, so he could climb out easily, but he refused. He carried her out, and laid her down on the shoulder of the road. He saw the flashing lights of a police car pulling up, and he heard the ambulance sirens getting closer and closer. They would be okay.

The cops ran over, distracting him for the first time from Casey. They asked questions, wanted to know everything that had happened. The man from the truck kept butting in and answering for him, which was just as well, because Derek was too dazed to think about what had happened. He vaguely listened to what the officer and the driver were saying, nodding occasionally as he watched the other officer, bent over Casey, talking softly to her. He watched her nod in response to whatever he was asking.

Then the ambulance was there, and they whisked him away from the police. He sat in the back of an ambulance as the paramedic poked and prodded and asked him questions. He saw them put Casey on a stretcher, and lead her to another ambulance. "Is she gonna be alright?" he asked the paramedic attending to him.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." He said, not looking up from what he was doing.

"Why isn't she talking?" Derek was rambling, somewhat hysterically, "I mean, normally she won't shut up and now she won't say anything!"

He stood up and started to walk over to her, but the paramedic stopped him. "We're taking you in this bus, you can see your sister at the hospital."

Derek shook his head "No, let me go with Casey. I'm fine, let me go with Casey." But the paramedic was stronger than him, and grabbed him by the shoulders, leading him away from Casey. Derek saw them slam the doors on Casey's ambulance and it started to pull away.

"Let me go with Casey! Get the fuck off me, man!" He yelled, tearing at the paramedic's tight grip. "LET ME GO WITH CASEY!" There was a shooting pain in his left side, and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

And so, after long last, chapter two. I'm sorry, sorry sorry sorry sorry for the long wait. I put up the first chapter right before finals, which was stupid, because I have been ridiculously busy since then, with studying and finals and coming home and unpacking and working and taking care of my mom and blah blah blah. And my laptop is still not hooked up, which is what i do all my work on, so I had to change it over to my crappy computer at home, but whatever. To make a long story short, I have wanted to do nothing but write this story for the past, like, month, and haven't been able to. But I promise it won't happen again.

So here is chapter two, I hope you enjoy it. It's a bit of a change of pace from chapter one, and it's not the kind of action-packed excitement you would expect from a month-long wait, but it's stuff i needed to write to get to better stuff. Oh, the better stuff. Hold on for the better stuff. : )

So enjoy, let me know what you think, and also let me know what the socially acceptable time is between posting chapters on here. I know a month is no good, but, like, a day is a bit drastic. So, I don't know, let me know.

Also, if anyone's sensitive about language, there's some, uh, language at the end of the chapter. It's not that bad to me, but considering I am writing about a show on Disney, it probably calls for a heads up. So, there you go.

Ok, I'll stop now, at the risk of this being the longest author's note in the history of the world. OH! How could I forget? thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU for all the reviews on chapter uno. Seriously, it was like the most exciting thing to check my email during finals week, and instead of having boring student mailing lists, I had story reviews! Yay! It would make me endlessly happy if you would review this chapter too: )

Enjoy!

* * *

Casey knew without even opening her eyes that something wasn't right. Shouldn't her alarm have woken her up? But that wasn't it. She opened her eyes, and realized it was because she was not at home in her bed, but rather lying in an uncomfortable hospital bed. She was all alone and didn't know why she was there. Panic sat like a heavy stone in the pit of her stomach. What was going on? 

"Shh…Marti, you need to be quiet, Casey is still resting."

Casey heard her mother approaching before she saw her. The stone dissipated slightly.

"Casey!" Nora brightened as soon as she saw her daughter was awake. She bustled into the room, followed by Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti, who was struggling to open a bag of M&Ms. "How are you feeling, honey?" Nora asked, morphing into concerned mother mode.

"I feel fine." Casey answered cautiously, but she had more pressing concerns, "What am I doing here? What happened?"

There was a pause before Nora answered, "You don't remember." It was a question, but sounded more like a statement. It seemed like a rhetorical question anyway. But her tone worried Casey.

"Oh God, what happened? Was it serious? Is everyone okay?" Nora opened her mouth to answer, but before she could do so, Marti's bag of M&Ms finally burst, and the candy went flying everywhere. Everyone just stared for a second, before Lizzie took it upon herself to clean up the mess, as Nora continued.

"Don't worry honey, everyone's fine. You and Derek were in an accident this morning on the way to school. You were very lucky you weren't injured more seriously. The doctors did think you might have been in shock, maybe that's why you don't remember anything. Do you remember being in the ambulance at all?

"No, I don't remember anything." She had the oddest sense of deja-vous, though, like she was so close to remembering, but it was just beyond her reach. And that was more frustrating than anything. "Am I okay? I feel fine, is it anything internal?" she asked, wondering if she should be able to feel internal bleeding. She only felt a little sore, like after a hard workout.

"No, thankfully, you only have some cuts and bruises. I guess your legs got pretty banged up by the dashboard." Nora carefully pulled the blanket aside, and Casey almost wished she hadn't. She had cuts criss-crossing her legs, made all the more gruesome by the black stitches holding some of them together. All of this was over a disgusting rainbow backdrop of bruising, like she had never seen before. She didn't know how it was possible for her to have not noticed something this serious on her own body.

"They gave you some mild anesthesia while they were doing the stitches, but you've been sleeping for the last couple of hours." Nora added as an afterthought.

None of this made sense to Casey. It still didn't seem real that she was in a hospital bed recovering from a car accident when she should be in math class. "I want to go home."

"I know, honey," Nora said soothingly, patting her hand, "but the doctor needs to see you again before you can be discharged, and we're still waiting for Derek to wake up."

Derek. How could she have forgotten about Derek? Was she really that bad of a stepsister? Before she could even ask about him, Nora answered for her. "He's alright, just some broken ribs, but he'll be hurting for awhile. They doped him up pretty good and he's still out like a light." There was a flash of a smile in Nora's eyes as she continued. "You know, he aggravated his injury more because he carried you to safety. He was really quite the hero."

Casey ignored her mother's smile, knowing she was desperate for any sign that her two children might not actually hate each other. "He _carried_ me? Who did he think he was, Bruce Willis? How did he know my neck wasn't broken? He could've killed me!"

Nora's smile was gone as soon as it appeared.

* * *

Derek woke up to an annoying beeping sound. He opened his eyes and grimaced at the bright lights above him. He turned to see where the incessant beeping was coming from, and felt another shooting pain in his left side. He grunted and fell back onto his pillow. 

"Derek!" he turned to see his dad sitting in a chair beside him. As he took in his surroundings, he saw he was in a hospital bed, with an I.V. in the crook of his right arm and electrodes on his chest. He had a splitting headache, and his neck and body ached, especially his chest.

"Wha- I was in an accident, wasn't I?" The memories came back to him quickly. The impact, sliding across the road, landing in the ditch, and rescuing himself and Casey. Casey. "Where's Casey? Is she okay?"

"She's fine." George answered, with an irritating smile. "The important question is, how are you feeling?"

"Like crap." Derek answered, trying to sit up. But the pain in his torso stopped him, and he settled back down onto his pillow. "What happened? Why don't I remember coming to the hospital?"

"You passed out." George answered. "Paramedics said you put up quite a fight when they were taking Casey, yelling and screaming, and then you just passed out. They think it was because of the pain."

"What's the damage?"

"You have three broken ribs, and some pretty severe bruising, most likely from the steering column hitting you in the chest. They think the damage was aggravated when you carried Casey up the hill. You know, you're not supposed to do that, she could've had a neck injury or something. You should've waited for the paramedics to get there."

"Yeah, well, I didn't really consider that at the time." Derek answered crossly.

"Well. I should probably let the others know you're okay, I'm sure they'll want to see you. Marti's been asking for Smerek for hours." George said with a smile. "Glad you're okay, buddy."

George left the room, and Derek closed his eyes again, still trying to process what had happened.

"Derek, good to see you're awake!" Derek opened his eyes to see a balding black man wearing blue scrubs enter the room, staring at a clipboard. He flipped a couple pages, ignoring Derek for a second, before snapping his head up and smiling. "How are we feeling?"

"Fine.", Derek said, trying to sit up again, this time a little more successful.

The doctor chuckled, "Fine, huh? That's pretty impressive, considering you have three broken ribs. But I hear you put on quite an impressive show of assaulting my paramedics at the accident site. But don't worry, your sister is doing just fine." He said with a patronizing smile. "Better than you, actually. Just a few cuts and scrapes. Good thing, too. Your 'act of heroism' could've caused some serious damage. Next time wait for the paramedics to get there."

"SMEREK!" Marti came running into the room, followed by Nora, Lizzie, and Edwin.

"Careful Marti, Derek's got a boo boo so you need to be careful." Nora turned to Derek and her face softened, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Derek said, already getting sick of answering the question.

"Smerek, I made a friend while you were sleeping! Her name in Nancy and she has three cats and her husband has a hernia, whatever that is, and I read a magazine, and then I found some gum under a chair and it was grape and grape is my favorite and-"

"Ooookay, Marti, that's enough." Nora said, cringing, "You can tell Derek the rest of your story later." She turned to the doctor, "When will we be able to take him home?"

"Well, we have to run a few more tests to make sure he's alright, but he should be out of here in a couple of hours."

* * *

Casey was sitting on her bed, conjugating verbs for her French test on Monday. Her mom had brought her a change of clothes and some of her books. But most of her school stuff was in her bag, which was in the car when it crashed. And as many times as she asked her mother, they still didn't know when and if she'd be getting them back. She had changed into the pink long-sleeved shirt and grey sweatpants Nora had brought. Thankfully, Nora had chosen the sweatpants instead of jeans, because they were still new enough to be soft on the inside, and didn't bother the cuts on her legs. 

She was waiting for the doctor to come back to check her out. She had been in this hospital long enough already; she just wanted to get home.

She looked up from her studying to see George walk in. "Hey Case, how you feeling?"

"I feel fine," she said, smiling, "but I'm ready to go home."

"I saw the doctor down the hall; he said he'd be down in a minute to check you out."

As if on cue, the doctor stepped through the door. "Casey, Casey, Casey." He said in his loud, booming voice, "How are the legs?" He gently rolled up the sweatpants, examining her wounds. "Yup, yup, yup, looks good. How do you feel?"

"I feel fine, I just want to go home."

"Understandable. You've had a long day." He said, patting her knee sympathetically, "just take it easy the next couple of days, you don't want to aggravate the wounds. They might feel fine now, because they're elevated, but they'll really start to bother you if you're standing for long periods of time, because all the blood will rush right to your legs. Any pain you feel should be taken care of by a couple aspirin, and we'll see you back here in a week to remove those stitches. Alright?"

Casey and George nodded, and the doctor got up to leave. "Alright kiddo, you're all set to go!" As George thanked the doctor, Casey cringed. She hated being called "kiddo".

George helped her gather her things, and lead her out of the room. She saw the exit at one end of the hallway, but George led her in the opposite direction. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"To Derek's room, it's just down the hall." George said matter-of-factly. Derek. Again, she had forgotten entirely about Derek. This meant she would have to stay at the hospital until Derek was released. Wonderful. And maybe if Derek hadn't made them late this morning, none of this would've happened at all.

But her thoughts were stopped as she reached the doorway to Derek's room. He was laying in the hospital bed, an I.V. in the crook of his arm. He was wearing a hospital gown of some kind, but he was covered up to the waist by a thin blanket. He was smiling at Marti as she rambled on about her day, but he looked….different, somehow. He looked weak, she decided. The almighty Derek Venturi, always the tough guy, the cool guy, getting the best of everyone else. Here he was, lying in a hospital bed, looking much worse off than she was. But most of all, he looked tired. She felt almost guilty, like she was seeing him in a private moment of weakness. Granted, she lived with the guy, so she'd seen him sleeping, or sick, or in compromising positions before, but he always had his sense of humor or vicious tongue to make him still seem better than everyone else. But here, the curtains were drawn, and he was alone with his family, recovering from what seemed to be some pretty serious injuries.

"Well now, we've got the whole family back together in one room." George broke into her thoughts, announcing their presence to the rest of the room.

Derek whipped his head around, and his eyes locked on her. There was a look on his face that she couldn't quite place. Usually when he looked at her, his eyes were swimming with the anticipation of some snappy remark that hadn't yet made it to his tongue. His eyes were usually very easy to read, but this look, this look was completely different. His eyes seemed to be saying a million different things, none of which she had ever seen out of him before.

It seemed like all eyes were on her, yet she had nothing to say. What could she say? Wow Derek, you look a hell of a lot worse than me? And then she remembered something Nora had said earlier, "You know, he aggravated his injury more because he carried you to safety". Was he in this condition because of her? Had her selfish, obnoxious, stepbrother actually put his own precious hockey star body in danger to save her? And now he was lying there, looking at her with those eyes that spoke volumes, yet waited for her to say something.

"You shouldn't have carried me."

It was not really what she had intended to say. She hadn't really intended to say anything, and yet those words had found their way to her lips and fallen out, swimming in the silence of the rest of the room.

Her eyes never left his as she spoke, and so she saw the immediate reaction to her words. His face hardened, and his eyes darkened. He looked at her for one more second, almost in disbelief.

"You know we-" Nora started, but was cut off by her stepson.

"ALRIGHT, I GET THE FUCKING POINT! I SCREWED UP AGAIN AND NEARLY KILLED CASEY. NEXT TIME WE'RE IN A CAR CRASH, I'LL LEAVE YOU IN THE WRECKAGE AND GET MYSELF OUT!" Derek shouted, getting red in the face.

The room was suddenly filled with crackling electricity, as George yelled "Derek!", just as Marti stage whispered cautiously to Edwin, "Smerek said a very very bad word!"

Any sympathy Casey had felt for Derek was gone. This was the Derek she knew. The anger flashing in his eyes was a look she was all too familiar with.

"WELL MAYBE IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DRIVE LIKE A MANIAC BECAUSE _YOU_ MADE US LATE, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!"

"Casey!" Nora shouted at her daughter.

"WELL MAYBE IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A MISERABLE BITCH ALL THE TIME, I WOULDN'T BE IN SUCH A HURRY TO GET AWAY FROM YOU!"

"DEREK!" Both George and Nora shouted.

Casey and Derek continued to shoot daggers at each other, until Nora herded her and the kids out of the room to bring them home. As Casey left the room, she turned to see Derek punch the bed in frustration as George reprimanded him for his behavior.

* * *

P.S. Sorry about any grammar mistakes or typos or ridiculous errors, but it's 4 a.m. Shit happens. 


	3. Chapter 3

What's that you say? The next chapter up after only a few days? You mean we don't have to wait a month?

I know, I know, it's crazy. And I've had it written for a couple days, but I wanted to wait a week before I posted it. But I figured I'd do it now while I had the time. So you can basically expect updates...whenever I feel like it :)

So, this chapter is a little more interesting than the last, in Dasey terms. Hope you enjoy, and review your little hearts out!

* * *

"You need to watch your language in front of the kids and in front of your stepmother, young man. I understand you've had a rough day, but there is no reason for you to go off like that at your sister, in a hospital no less!" George hissed at his son.

"She's _not_ my sister!" Derek said slowly.

"Fine, then there's no need for you to go off on anyone like that!" George answered. "I'll give you some time to cool off, if you think you can control yourself. I'm going to get some coffee and find out when I can bring you home. And then I have to call Nora to come pick us up, because she had to take the kids home in the car." He added pointedly.

"Oh, nice, Dad." Derek said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Sorry this is all my fault. Sorry some idiot crashed into us and wrecked your ride home. I'll just lay on this _gurney_ and think about what I've done."

George just shook his head before sighing in aggravation and leaving his son to stew in his own anger.

Derek punched the bed a few more times just for good measure. He immediately regretted doing so, as pain seared through his left side. He gritted his teeth and growled at the pain. He lay back on his pillow in frustration.

So typical. Typical, typical Casey.

But he was more angry with himself than anything else. Because he had seen her in the doorway, for once not her hoity-toity, snooty self, but actually looking human, and maybe looking concerned to see her stepbrother on a hospital bed. All the memories came rushing back to him: the truck hurtling towards them, crashing into the ditch, thinking Casey was dead, feeling helpless as they took her away from him. And she was looking at him like she understood. Understood what no one else could. How scared he was, and how worried he was about her. That he never stopped to think he could be hurting her or himself by carrying her out of the car, he just wanted to get them away from there.

And then what's the first thing to come out of her mouth? Criticism. Of course. He shouldn't have expected any less from her. Even after their ordeal that morning, and a long day of being poked and prodded by doctors and nurses. Still she had to make him out to be an idiot, make it look like the accident was all his fault. He should've known.

* * *

"Was that really necessary?" Nora asked her daughter as soon as they were on the road. 

"What! Are you kidding? There is no way that was my fault." Casey turned to look accusingly at her mother in the driver's seat.

"I never said it was your fault. But there was no need for you to be shouting like that in the middle of a hospital, and in front of the kids!" Nora whispered, as if "the kids" weren't listening intently from the backseat.

"Like I was the only one shouting! And did you hear the kind of language Derek was using in front of 'the kids'?"

"I did, and I'm sure his father is speaking to him right now. But there is no need for you to stoop to his level." Nora glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Marti fussing in the backseat. "This conversation is over for now, but we _will_ discuss this later."

Casey crossed her arms and stared angrily ahead of her at the rain splattering on the windshield.

* * *

It was a few hours later when Derek awoke to the feeling of someone fiddling with the I.V. in his arm. He opened his eyes to see the nurse taking out the I.V. and replacing it with a bandage. She smiled at him before she left. He turned to see his dad sitting in the chair next to him. "I was just gonna wake you up. The doctor cleared you to go home, if you're feeling okay." 

Derek didn't even know he had fallen asleep. He must've been more tired than he thought. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. It was much quieter now than it had been earlier. Visiting hours must be over. "What time is it?"

George looked at his watch. "It's about 1 a.m. Are you feeling up to going home now, or do you want to spend the night?"

Derek shook his head. "I'm fine, I just want to go home. But there's no way Nora's coming out here at 1 a.m."

"Oh, sure she will." George said, smiling, "She told me to call her no matter what time it was. She's already called several times to see how you're doing. You know, I think she just might be worried about you." he joked.

Derek smiled half-heartedly as he threw his blanket off, looking in disgust at his hospital gown before trying to hoist himself out of the bed. But his attempt was thwarted by the searing pain yet again shooting through his side. George saw the face he made and rushed over to put his arm around his son and help him out of bed.

Derek already didn't like how this was going. "How long am I gonna have to deal with this?" he asked in frustration.

"I'm sorry buddy, but there's not really anything they can do for broken ribs besides just letting them heal, which isn't exactly the quickest process. But Doc gave us a prescription for some Vicodin, which we can fill on the way home, if you need it."

He helped Derek into the clothes Nora had brought for him, jeans and a t-shirt, and just as George was calling Nora to pick them up, a nurse came into the room with a wheelchair. Derek took one look at it and shook his head. "Uh-uh. There is no way I'm going out of here in a wheelchair." The nurse ignored him and wheeled the chair over to him, motioning for him to sit down. "No way. I have a few broken ribs, I'm not crippled."

"Sorry hun, it's hospital policy." The nurse answered, not really looking like she was interested in arguing with a teenager at this point in her shift. Derek looked to his dad for help, but George was still on the phone and just motioned for him to sit down. He sighed and sat down in the chair, but tried to look as uncomfortable as possible, as if in protest. Which wasn't all that hard, since every time he changed position it sent another shock of pain through him.

So the nurse wheeled him down the hall, followed by George, still on the cell phone. It had to be the longest hallway Derek had ever seen in his life. It seemed like every person they passed stared at him, wondering "What's wrong with that kid? Why's he in a wheelchair?"

They finally reached the exit, and passed into the cool air outside. Derek wondered what had happened to his leather jacket. He had had it on when they were in the car, he knew that, but he hadn't seen it in the hospital. He thought of asking his father, but he didn't really want to know. He had visions of those hospital dramas where they cut the victim's clothes off of them in the E.R. He loved that jacket, it was the most expensive item of clothing he owned, and he didn't want to think about replacing it.

Nora wasn't there yet, so George helped Derek onto a bench outside the hospital and the nurse took the wheelchair back inside, wishing them goodnight. George and Derek sat there in silence for awhile, each one lost in his thoughts. When George finally spoke, Derek had forgotten he was even there.

"You know I don't think any of this was your fault. I'm sorry if I made it sound that way."

Derek watched Nora's van pull into the parking lot. "I know, Dad. I know."

* * *

Casey awoke the next morning, feeling like she had, for lack of a better term, been hit by a truck. She felt stiff and achy all over her body. She guessed this was probably whiplash from the accident. She had slept really well last night. The only time she woke up was when she heard her mother and George bring back Derek around 2 a.m. She had peered through the crack in her door, and watched as they carefully helped him into his room, with their arms around him for support. And again she had felt a pang of guilt as she watched him struggle through the pain. She laid awake for a bit after that, thinking about things, before she fell asleep again. 

She woke up at eleven, which was later than she usually slept in, even on weekends. She was missing school again today. She still needed her rest, she knew that, but she hated the thought of all the work she would have to make up next week. But it was Friday, so she still had the whole weekend to relax before she had to think about school.

She tied back her hair and put on a hoodie before heading downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she was greeted by the smell of pancakes.

"Morning, Mom"

Nora turned from the skillet and rushed over to give her daughter a hug, kissing her on the forehead. "How are you feeling, honey?" she asked, holding her at arm's length and scanning her body as if looking for any new injuries.

"I feel alright. Kind of achy, though."

"Well, that's to be expected. But I bet some pancakes will help!" Nora bustled around, preparing a gourmet breakfast for Casey, as if that would instantly cure her.

She sat with Casey as she ate her breakfast, and they talked about everything and nothing. Neither really wanted to discuss the events of the day before, but it was a hard topic to avoid. Especially when, as Casey glanced across the room, she saw Derek's leather jacket draped over a chair with some of their other stuff from the hospital. But the jacket was covered with dark stains.

"What happened to Derek's jacket?" Casey asked, knowing how upset Derek would be when he found out about this.

Nora hesitated for a moment. "He got blood on it."

Casey knew that wasn't good. Blood almost never came out of clothing. The jacket was as good as gone. But wait a second. "Derek didn't have any cuts that would have bled that much."

Nora hesitated again, this time looking like she didn't want to answer at all. She mumbled something quietly, but Casey couldn't hear her. She asked her to repeat it, and when she did, Nora looked up at her and said slowly, "It isn't his blood. It's yours."

Casey's stomach dropped again. Derek must have gotten her blood on his jacket when he had 'rescued' her. Oddly enough, that made it seem more real. As much as it had been discussed, and argued about, she still didn't really believe that the Derek she knew would put himself in danger to save her. But this was proof. All she could think of to say was, "Oh."

Nora looked at her for a second before she got up and went back to the skillet, preparing another plate of pancakes.

"Are you eating another breakfast?" Casey asked confusedly.

Nora finished her preparations before walking over to the table, placing the new plate next to Casey, and taking Casey's empty plate. "I'd like you to bring this plate up to Derek."

"Mom-" Casey started to protest, but Nora wouldn't let her finish.

"I know you don't want to talk to Derek right now, but you both had a very stressful day yesterday, and you took it out on each other. You know he didn't mean the things he said, it was just the pain and exhaustion talking. But we both know that the only way to ameliorate the situation is for you to go talk to him." She saw Casey's mouth open to protest again, but she cut her off. "I didn't say you had to apologize, just let him know that you didn't take his words to heart. Plus, he needs to wake up now or he won't be able to sleep tonight."

Casey looked for any sympathy in her mother's face, but saw there was no getting out of this situation. So she sighed, grabbed the plate, and headed for the stairs. She tried to form a plan of action to approach Derek. After all, bringing him food was like a peace offering, wasn't it? But waking him up before he's ready? Not so much. Why would her mother think this would possibly be a good idea?

She reached Derek's door and stood outside it for a minute, debating whether or not she could just slide each pancake individually under the door and then just run away. But she took a deep breath and turned the knob.

She stepped into the room quietly, and saw that Derek was none the wiser. He was still dead to the world, asleep in his bed, wrapped up in his flannel comforter. He was sleeping on his back, with several pillows propped up under his head. He didn't usually sleep this way, but it was probably because of his injuries. His brown hair was tousled, sticking out at all angles. His long lashes brushed his freckled cheeks, his pink lips open slightly, emitting soft breaths of sleep. His face was speckled with the same tiny cuts that she had on her own face, most likely from the broken windshield. He was sleeping without a shirt, which was not unusual for him. What was different now were the nasty bruises peeking out from the top of the comforter. His left hand rested lightly on his flannel-covered stomach, as if protecting his injuries from any potential obstacles he might encounter in his sleep.

She watched him for a moment before clearing a spot on his bedside table and setting down the plate of pancakes. She didn't really know how to wake him; whether to call his name, or try to tap on his shoulder. She knew he was a sound sleeper, but hoped she wouldn't have to resort to desperate measures.

"Derek"

Her voice sounded too loud in the silence of the room, and she was surprised to hear it crack the tiniest bit as she said his name, but she chalked it up to having just recently woken up.

He obviously wasn't very deeply asleep, because at the sound of her voice, he scrunched up his face and drew in a long breath through his nose. He opened his eyes and looked blearily at her for a second, before closing them again.

"Casey." Her name escaped his lips with the swell of air he had taken in through his nose. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he said it. He opened his eyes as he nestled his entwined fingers behind his head.

She wasn't sure if he was waiting for her to say something, but she took the opportunity anyway. "I brought you breakfast. Mom made pancakes." She gestured to the plate on his bedside table, and his eyes followed her motions. He moved to sit up, but she saw his face crumble into a wince as he did so. She instinctively moved forward to help him, but he held out a hand to stop her. She watched as he struggled through the pain, sucking air between his teeth in a hiss.

He managed to sit almost upright, and threw her a threatening look, ready to snap at her for laughing at his struggle to do such a simple thing. But when he caught her eye, he saw her gaze shift to his from where it had been focused on his chest. He had forgotten until then about the bruises, and moved to pull the comforter up over his chest. But before he could do so, her hand lightly touched his wrist, stopping his actions.

"Show me."

Her eyes were filled with something between desperation and apology, fear and sympathy. He considered that look for a moment, before slowly pulling the covers down to his waist.

She could feel his eyes on her as she took in the sight before her. There was a gruesome rainbow of bruising covering his chest and stomach, like on her legs, but worse. It looked much more painful. She stepped closer and knelt down slowly next to the bed for a closer look. Her instincts told her she should do something; help him like he had helped her, even if it was too late. But what could she do?

She slowly reached out her hand and lightly touched her cool fingers to his skin, still warm from sleep. His chest rose and fell with his breathing as her fingers trailed slowly over the bruises on his chest and in the dip between his chest and stomach. As her fingers began to graze over his ribcage, he suddenly grabbed her wrist to stop her. Their eyes met, both slightly panicked. She stood up quickly and walked towards the door.

"You should eat. I have to go."

There were no apologies, but it was enough.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone! Thanks again for all the lovely reviews, they mean the world to me! Just a quick apology to anyone who may have taken offense to the part with Derek and the wheelchair. I meant nothing disparaging about people in wheelchairs, I just felt that that is how Derek would react in such a situation: he would want to act tough and pretend like he wasn't really hurt at all and that he didn't need anyone's help. I'm sorry if I offended anyone, it was not my intention. I obviously have nothing against people in wheelchairs!

Anywho, onto this chapter. It's a bit different than the previous chapters, and I might be pushing the rating a little bit, I don't know. It's a bit more risque, so for those of you sensitive to such things, you might wanna skip this one. But don't really. Because let me tell ya, you'd be missing out. I had a loooot of fun writing this one. But not nearly as much fun as I had imagining it! Enjoy, and review the crap out of it!

P.S.- I think Michael Seater is pretty hot, so I decided to check out his other series: Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. How adorable is he in that! Too cute. And I've only seen a couple episodes, (the conclusion and the first few episodes, ironically), so I don't really know what goes on with Josie/Lucas or Josie/Vaughn, but cleeeearly Josie and Lucas are just meant to be together. As one incredibly wise fanfic author with excellent taste in 80's movies put it, he's her Duckie! Ok, that's all.

* * *

The next several weeks passed rather uneventfully. Well, nothing was ever uneventful in the MacDonald-Venturi household, but there was nothing else out of the ordinary. The cuts on Casey's legs were looking better and better every day: the stitches were gone, and now only the scars remained. Derek's was a slower recovery. Each member of the family took their turn helping him in the beginning, since even walking short distances he needed support. They brought him things when he needed it. They even gave up their spot on the couch to him because he was injured.

Casey went back to school on Monday and was immediately bombarded by questions about the accident. Apparently word had traveled quickly that the almighty Derek Venturi was in an accident, and everyone was of course far more concerned with his condition than hers. When he returned to school a week later, he received a hero's welcome. And he was, of course, using everyone's good intentions to his own benefit. He had weaseled his way out of countless homework assignments or detentions with claims of "My _broken_ ribs are really sore today."

Things between Casey and Derek were essentially patched the morning she brought him breakfast. They were by no means friends, but they had been unwillingly brought together by the experience they shared. Their argument on the night of the accident was forgotten, and had not been mentioned since, by any member of the family. Casey and Derek were able to interact like the rest of the family; talking amicably, teasing, even the occasional petty argument. But nothing like their rip-roaring brawls of the old days.

Neither one really knew how to react to this new development. Derek had been taken by surprise by her actions that morning in his bedroom. It seemed so unlike her to exhibit any kind of caring, maternal instinct. He had glimpsed that side of her, and it changed his overall perception.

Casey was on pins and needles since that day in Derek's room. She hadn't really meant to touch his bruises. There was no need for it, really. It's not like she had any kind of healing powers. But she had never, ever touched Derek like that, never on his bare chest. It was almost inappropriate, now that she thought back on it. No one should be trailing their fingers over their stepbrother's chest! She shuddered at the thought. She didn't know what to say for herself, because she couldn't even explain her actions to herself. It was like she and Derek had skipped over the entire incident, never to be spoken of again.

* * *

"Beep beep beep"

As the sound of the alarm penetrated his sleep-muffled mind, Derek groaned and rolled over to turn it off. Once the incessant beeping sound stopped, he lay in bed for a few more moment's rest. And as usual, a few more moments turned into about 45 minutes. Before he knew it, Nora was pounding on his door telling him she was leaving for work, and he had better get up now if he was going to be on time for school.

Derek threw off his covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He sat there rubbing his eyes for a minute, before navigating his way through the various piles of clothes, books, CDs, and moldy leftovers strewn about his room, to get to his door. He opened it, and saw Casey's door open down the hall. Casey stood in the doorway in a fluffy purple bathrobe and slippers. He saw her look from him, to the bathroom door, and back. But before she could make her move, Derek leapt from his doorway towards the bathroom. He was closer, so he made it there first, but not quite in time to slam the door on her. She pushed her way through and glared at him angrily.

"There is no way you are showering now. You know I shower everyday at 7:45. It's part of the schedule. It's not my fault you can't stick to it. There are seven people living in this house now, and you have to learn that not everything can be done on your schedule!" Casey pursed her lips and looked indignantly at Derek, hands on her hips.

Derek stood staring at her with his arms crossed for a moment, seemingly considering her words. Finally, he spoke. "If you're done with your lecture, you can leave."

Casey made an elaborate show of sitting down on the closed toilet seat, crossing her legs and arms, and smiling up at him sweetly "I'm not going anywhere."

Derek shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat.", and grabbed the back collar of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head.

Casey looked torn between feeling unsure of what exactly Derek was doing, and wanting to stay there and prove her point, winning the argument. But when Derek hooked his thumbs into his boxers and began to pull them down, she jumped up, shrieking, "Ahh, you pig!", and ran out of the bathroom with covered eyes, slamming the door behind her.

Derek smiled in satisfaction and continued to undress. He kicked his clothes across the floor and moved aside the shower curtain, turning on the water. He let the water run as he went about the rest of his morning business, hoping to use up all the hot water before Casey could get in there. He knew he could be ready for school in a matter of minutes, but Casey would be furious at the disruption in her morning schedule.

After letting the shower run for awhile, he stepped into the tub and let the water run over him. It wasn't long before Casey began pounding on the door, demanding he get out of the bathroom and let her shower. This, naturally, only made him take his sweet time.

Just as he was rinsing the soap from his body, he felt a cool breeze through the curtain as the bathroom door opened. He raised his eyebrows as he heard someone walk in, slamming the door behind them. "Hmmm." he thought, "Invasion of privacy: not really Casey's style. I must be rubbing off on her." He stuck his head out of the curtain to taunt her, but the smirk was immediately wiped from his face.

Because he stuck his head out just in time to see Casey undo the belt of her bathrobe, shrugging the fabric off of her shoulders, letting it fall in a heap at her ankles. She stood in the center of the steam-filled bathroom, her perfectly curvy body on full display as she leaned back slightly to shake out her hair.

Somehow, Derek managed to make some noise of protest, although he had no conscious thought of it. He really had no conscious thoughts at all. At the sound, Casey looked at him, tipping her head to the side, "Since you can't manage to finish this shower on your own, I'm apparently going to have to help you." She reached for the opposite end of the curtain, and as she began to pull it aside, Derek backed himself up against the wall, eyes wide with fear.

"_She has actually gone crazy." _He thought. _"This is what all my work has amounted to; I have literally tortured her out of her mind and now she has found me at my most vulnerable point and is going to murder me." _He shouted in protest, his mind saying, _"Get away from me you crazy bitch!"_, his mouth saying something that sounded a lot like "Nnnngghhhh!"

Casey stepped into the tub, and stood facing him. She leaned back into the stream of water, letting it run down through her hair, and over her body. Derek's wide eyes watched a single rivulet of water travel over her shoulder, down the side of her breast, over her stomach and around the curve of her hip, down her leg and joining the pool of water soaking her ruby red toes.

They both stood in silence as she reached down and grabbed the bottle of shampoo, squirted some into her palm, and began massaging it into her hair. She stared directly into his eyes as she did so. He tried his best to keep his focus on her head, but it was very hard to ignore the fact that there was a very naked, very _attractive_, girl standing a few feet away from his very naked self. And his very naked self was about to make his feelings on the situation very obvious to all present. He slowly became aware of all the blood rushing from every point in his body to one particular point, and his knees began to tremble. He braced himself against the wall, but didn't dare take his eyes off of Casey as she slowly massaged her scalp. He noticed how the white lather of the shampoo contrasted with the near blackness of her wet hair, all of it against the slightly olive tinge of her skin, glistening as the water poured over her shoulders…

"_Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…"_

Derek's head snapped up to catch Casey's eyes, desperate to keep any kind of control in this situation. He looked for any obvious signs of insanity in her eyes, like maybe the pupils changed to red or something, but there was nothing. Casey's dark eyes were even darker than usual, looking almost stormy.

But she broke their gaze suddenly, and he watched as she picked up the shampoo bottle again and squirted another pool of gel into her palm. She snapped the bottle shut, set it down on the shelf, and stepped towards Derek.

"_Omigodomigodomigod…"_

Derek tried to back further away from the approaching woman, but he had already pressed himself as far into the wall as he could manage. His knees continued to shake as she stepped closer and closer, her palms pressed together, until they were practically nose to nose. He saw a smirk slightly curve the corner of her mouth, and could only watch helplessly as she raised her arms and placed her hands on either side of his head. Her hands began massaging the shampoo into his hair; he could feel her nails scraping across his scalp, sending shivers through him. He never thought to mention that he had already washed his hair, because really, he had more pressing concerns. Because the smirk was gone from her mouth, and she had stopped massaging his scalp. He watched as her dark eyes darted to his lips, and back to his cloudy gaze. He normally could have predicted what would happen next, but this had already by far been the most unpredictable moment of his life.

Before he could decipher her intentions, her mouth was on his, and her hands were trailing down from his hair onto his shoulders. Her lips were warm, and he could taste the shower water on them. He stood stock still for a moment, not responding to her kiss, still in a fog of disbelief. It wasn't until he felt her tongue enter his mouth, without any hesitation, that his mind finally registered what was going on. Well, maybe it wasn't his mind that registered, but whatever it was, he began to kiss her back.

He snaked his fingers into her sudsy hair, tilting her head and deepening the kiss. Her hands roamed over his chest, as if desperate to touch every inch of his skin. Their mouths separated the slightest bit as they caught their breath, and Derek ran his tongue over her lower lip. She immediately pressed her mouth back onto his, desperate for more. The kiss tasted sweet, and slightly bitter, from the suds dripping down over their closed eyelids and onto their lips. Her hands trailed back over his shoulders and into his hair. She grasped the back of his neck and pressed her body against his.

As soon as Derek felt her nipples brush against his chest, it was his turn to lose his mind. All inhibitions lost, he grabbed her shoulders and slammed her against the back wall of the shower, wrapping her left leg around his waist. She let out a groan as his mouth moved from her lips, his tongue collecting the droplets of water along the column of her throat. He pressed his lips against the divot in the base of her throat, collecting the water there, and savoring the sweet taste of her skin.

"Mhhmmm, Derek." She murmured as his lips began to trail along her collarbone, his fingers pressing into her hips. She continued to say his name as his mouth moved back to her neck. Her reaction only encouraged him, and he unconsciously thrust against her. "Oh God, Derek…..Derek!" her murmurs turned to shouts as he began to suck a spot where her neck met her shoulder.

But he slowly began to regain his consciousness as a little voice in the back of his head told him something wasn't right. Sure he had gotten lots of reactions when he messed around with girls before, but none of them had ever gotten so rowdy so quickly. Granted, they were naked and pretty much wrapped around each other, but still. By this point, Casey's head was tilted back and she was pounding her fists against the shower wall, shrieking his name over and over again.

The steam in the shower suddenly got very thick, and her shrieks got louder and louder. The mist was soft and warm against his body as his mind got clearer and clearer.

His eyes widened as he realized several things all at once. One: he was lying in his bed, fully clothed, wrapped in his blankets. Two: Casey was pounding on the door to his room and shouting for him to get up. And three: he had the most agonizing case of morning wood he had ever experienced in his life.

"_Oh. My. God."_

A cold chill ran down his spine as the realization of exactly what had just happened sunk in. The knocking continued. "Yeah, alright, I hear you!" Derek shouted weakly, and he heard the pounding stop and Casey stomp back into her room and slam the door.

"_I had a dirty dream about Casey. I had a dirty dream about my stepsister!"_

This thought brought his attention back to the pressing problem he was experiencing in his groin area. He threw his blankets off and leapt across the room, painfully waddling into the bathroom and slamming the door behind him. He carefully locked the door behind him before removing his clothes and stepping into the shower. He turned the cold water knob as far as it would go, and let the icy cold water beat down on him as he ashamedly took care of his problem.

It wasn't long before Casey was pounding on the door, telling him to get out of the bathroom and let her shower. Derek let out a pathetic cry and shouted, "I will be out in a minute, I swear! Please, please just leave me alone!" The knocking stopped and he waited a moment to make sure she was gone before he turned off the water. He didn't even take the time to dry off before he threw on his t-shirt and boxers, which clung wetly to his skin, opened the door just as Casey came back out of her room, and ran into his bedroom chanting "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."

Casey looked puzzledly at his closed bedroom door before shrugging and walking into the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Long time no update, I know. And I really left you hanging, didn't I? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I've been very busy. Not that you care about my excuses, you just want to get onto the next chapter (I hope!). I've actually had this one in the can for awhile, but I haven't really had the time to really go back and rework some things I didn't really love, thus why it hasn't been posted yet. I just find it difficult sometimes to not just write a story that goes "and then Derek and Casey made out again, and it was superhot.", although I'm sure you wouldn't particularly mind if this whole story was nothing but Dasey action. Damn me and my need for a substantial plot! Anywho, I didn't end up changing things, but I figured I should post it now while I had the opportunity. So let me know if anything sucks, or if there are any glaring errors. Or just let me know what you think of it!

So, when we last left Casey and Derek, Derek found himself having some veeeeery dirty thoughts about his darling stepsister. What's a boy to do?...

(PS- the ruler line separater things are just opting not to function tonight, so said divider will look a little bit like this ----- )

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Derek sat alone in 7th period study hall later that day, pondering that morning's events. Although he normally took study hall as an opportunity to line up his social calender for the coming weekend, today he sat by himself at a table in the corner, by the window. While his friends laughed and joked on the other side of the cafeteria, Derek leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on the table, twirling a pencil in his fingers and watching a squirrel scamper its way across the lawn.

He had been totally out of sorts all day. He wasn't his usual obnoxious self in the hallways. His friends noticed he seemed lost in his own world, and he was noticeably jumpy, starting at the slightest interruption to his thoughts.

_There has to be a perfectly logical explanation for this._

He had been trying to rationalize his situation since he woke up from the dream, and by the time the bell rang at the end of the period, he thought he had it pretty well figured out. _It only makes sense. I live with a girl who is my age, I see her everyday, it's only natural that she would slip into my unconscious. And I'm a teenage boy, dammit! It's only natural for me to have these thoughts, right? Right_?

Even if Derek thought he had explained his actions to himself, it didn't make him any more comfortable around Casey. They weren't fighting, but he was barely speaking to her at all. It seemed whenever she entered a room, he would find some way to make a quick exit. He couldn't bear to face her, because every time he saw her, he could practically feel her lips on his, and taste the sweetness of her skin.

Derek's behavior had not gone unnoticed by Casey. Normally, this would've been the ideal situation for her, but she couldn't help but wonder what had caused this sudden change in Derek's behavior. There hadn't been a fight, or even any particular uncomfortable situation to turn the tables. It was like he just woke up one morning and decided to ignore her. But it was better this way, she supposed, to have him ignoring her; at least he wasn't picking fights.

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"Derek. Derek? Derek!"

Derek pressed pause on his controller and turned his attention away from Babe Raider and towards the progressively irritated voice behind him. Nora stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, head cocked to the side. The stance was shockingly reminiscent of her daughter, a thought which crossed Derek's mind before he could stop himself.

"Your father and I are taking the kids to see the Nutcracker." Nora started, but Derek interrupted.

"What, I'm not invited on family outings anymore?"

"Do you actually want to go?"

"No." Derek shook his head, laughing at the idea of him ever attending a ballet.

"That's what we figured." Nora continued. "We'll be out kind of late, but no guests, and no parties! And if you could do the dishes, I'd really appreciate it."

Derek rolled his eyes, but stopped when he saw Casey coming down the stairs in a tank top, flannel pajama pants, and slippers. "Will they let you into the ballet wearing _that_?" Casey paused in the doorway a moment, to glare at him, before continuing on to the kitchen.

"Casey will not be attending. She seems to think that ballerinas set an unhealthy body image for young girls, and she doesn't want to be subjected to that. Or something like that." The stiffness in her tone told Derek that there had been hours of opinionated lecturing from Casey on this topic, and Nora had just given in and let her daughter skip the trip altogether.

Casey listened to the conversation as she prepared herself a snack in the kitchen (The irony that she was preparing herself a snack shortly after lecturing her mother on unhealthy body images was not lost on her.) She realized that this was the first time Derek had addressed her normally after practically ignoring her existence these past few weeks. She hoped maybe this was a sign that things would be getting back to normal. Because as much as she hated to admit it, she missed having someone to argue with. It just wasn't as satisfying to win an argument against her mother or George or even Emily, because none of them put up much of a fight. Derek was just as opinionated as her, (as faulty as his opinions may be), and had never given up the fight to Casey.

George and Nora gathered the children, bundled them up in their coats, (well, bundled Marti; Edwin and Lizzie could bundle themselves. But bundling Marti was a two-person job.), and were on their way. This left Derek and his Babe Raider in the living room, and Casey and her snack back up in her bedroom.

She was in the process of cleaning her room, which actually wasn't as much of a debacle as it would be for, say, Derek. Casey's room was always pretty neat, because she took regular opportunities such as this one to clean it. These regular opportunities happened to present themselves about two or three times a week. Tonight's project was her desk. Her desk was the one place in her room where her obsessive-compulsive neatness didn't even come close. The desk was a hand-me-down, it was originally her grandfather's, then was passed down to Nora when she was in college.

Casey loved the charm and history of the old desk, but it's deep drawers seemed to hold about as much clutter as her life could handle. Casey sifted through old notes and CDs and pencils and books and papers, some of which had been there since she was in 6th grade. She had the tiniest bit of pack-rat in her, and it seemed to have found a home in these drawers. She could have gone through them before the desk was moved to their new house, but between the marriage and the move, everything happened so quickly, the messiness of her desk drawers was the least of her concerns.

But now, as she sifted through the memories of her not-so-distant past, her heart began to ache for her old life: her old friends, her old school, even her old family. Things were so much simpler when it was "just the girls".

When sifting through her bottom drawer, she came across a video tape she hadn't seen in a very long time. She smiled for a moment at the memories it contained, before coming to a decision. What other opportunity would she have to actually sit back and relax and watch this video? The only problem was, there was only one VCR in the house, and the television it was connected to was currently splashed with images of scantily-clad superheroes.

She took a deep breath. Did she really want to spend what should be a peaceful, relaxing evening, arguing with Derek? She smiled to herself. _Yeah._ She grabbed the tape and headed down the stairs.

She was met at the doorway to the living room with the sounds of gunfire, and the cheesy background music from Babe Raider. These sounds were interspersed with random grunts and groans as Derek sat on the edge of his seat, absorbed in his game. His brow was furrowed in concentration as his fingers twiddled with all the buttons on the controller.

He had been playing this game for the past, oh, 5 hours, so Casey figured she was well within her rights to ask to use the TV for the short amount of time it would take her to watch her home videos. Yeah, right, as if that logic would mean anything to Derek. She cleared her throat and tried to sound a polite as possible. "Derek?"

No response.

"Derek?"

Still nothing. Derek didn't even show any awareness of her presence. So she left her spot in the doorway and walked over to stand directly between Derek and the television screen. Derek snapped to attention, as the game behind her wailed in defeat.

"What the hell, Casey?"

"Now that I've gotten your attention," Casey said sweetly, "I would like to use the TV now, if you don't mind."

Derek snorted, "Yeah, well, I do mind. Get out of the way." He shifted to look past her at the screen, but she moved in front of him again.

"Sorry Derek, but it's time you learned to share. You've been in front of this TV for hours now. I just want to watch one video, and then you can go back to your video games."

Derek considered this for a moment, before responding. "You know what? That would have been a great idea, if you had just asked nicely, and I could've saved my game, and you could've watched your stupid video. But instead, you made me lose, so now I have to start over from the first level. So I'll let you use the TV, when I get back to level 27, which was where I was before I was so rudely interrupted."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Casey said, yelling now "You've played this game a thousand times! Just let me watch my video and you can get back to it."

"No," Derek smiled, "I don't think I will."

Casey growled, walked over to the videogame system, and unplugged it.

Derek jumped up from the couch, "What are you doing!"

"Overruling." Casey smiled, and grabbed the remote from the couch.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Derek tried to grab at the remote in her hand, but she jumped back out of his reach. He chased her around the couch, and over the coffee table. He caught his foot on the edge of the table as he went over it, and almost fell on his face. Casey leaned against the dining room table, doubled over in laughter. Derek paused for a moment, after he caught his balance, and watched her.

Her laughter trailed off, and their eyes locked. They were brought back to what they were doing. The corner of Derek's mouth curved into a mischievous grin, and Casey was able to move just in time as Derek once again lunged at her. She ran around through the kitchen, and into the front hall.

He finally caught up to her near the bottom of the stairs, where she was trying to make a break for her bedroom. He held her right arm, her right hand gripping tightly to the remote. He twisted the arm behind her back, so that she couldn't get away. She wriggled in his grasp, but as much as she hated to admit it, he was overpowering her.

"Aww, Casey, now it's time for a little game on my terms. It's called Mercy." He twisted Casey's arm a little more as she tried to kick back at his shins. As she struggled, he brought his mouth to her ear. "Just say 'mercy', Case," he whispered in her ear, "just say the word, and I'll let you go."

His lips brushed her ear, as he began whispering, "Mercy...mercy", taunting her.

"Mercy" His lips lingered on her earlobe.

"Mercy" He whispered the word into the skin just below her ear.

"Mercy" Something began to sizzle in the pit of Casey's stomach. Her skin felt like it was burning from Derek's hot breath. What was going on? Was this some kind of joke?

"Mercy" Derek's free hand snaked around her hip, as his lips trailed down her neck.

"Mercy" His lip's brushed over her skin, so lightly that Casey wasn't sure if she was just imagining it.

"Mercy" His breath made goosebumps rise on her skin, as his mouth made it's way across her shoulder.

"Mercy" His thumb brushed the small strip of skin between her top and the waistband of her pajama pants. The unexpected touch sent an involuntary shiver through Casey's body. Her back arched against Derek, pressing her shoulder against Derek's lingering lips.

His lips sere warm and soft against her skin, but they sent a shock of realization through her. She tore herself out of his grasp, his hand, by now, only loosely holding her wrist. She stumbled back against the banister, catching the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She stared at Derek with a look of confusion, horror, and hurt, as her broken voice choked out "Mercy."

She turned on her heel and ran up the stairs. Derek could only stare after her, wondering what the hell he had just done.


	6. Chapter 6

Yes, it's true, I am still alive. I apologize like crazy for not updating in a zillion years. All sorts of stuff has been happening, like my hard drive crashing when i was almost done with this chapter, so I lost it and all my notes for the story. Not cool. However, I rewrote it, and ended up going in a different direction than I originally intended, so I think it worked out for the best. But I still am super sorry, and I love you all, and thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews, and for liking this story enough to bug me to keep it going! The guilt trip works every time, so keep it up if I'm slacking off!

Also, a little background info: Up until now, I had been undecided as to what the deal was with Sam and Casey in my story. But I decided that we'll say they dated, and it was a cutesy little whatever relationship, but they eventually broke up after a couple months, as high school relationships are wont to do. But it was an amicable break-up, they just didn't really have any kind of spark, so they eventually went their separate ways. They are friendly at school, but things are still a little weird and awkward, understandably. And it was kind of a high-profile relationship at school, because everyone was like "Oh my God, Sam's going out with that geeky girl? Isn't she Derek's stepsister? That's so weird!" You know, that kind of stuff.

Just thought this little background would help give you a better perspective for some stuff that happens in this chapter. Anywho, sorry this is so long, I'll shut up now and let you read. I hope you all enjoy it, and review to let me know you still love me!

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Derek was out of control. That was the only explanation he could come up with. He didn't know what was going on in his head, what had made him do that.

_Oh God._

What was wrong with him? First the dream, then- _God_- had he kissed her? Not to mention the fact that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her for the past several weeks. And these were not just any thoughts, either. They were bad bad dirty thoughts! And about his stepsister! And it's not like this was any old stepsister, either. This was Casey. Casey, who had been making his life absolutely miserable ever since their parents had gotten married. Before she arrived, he had the world in the palm of his hand. His dad let him get away with anything. Edwin followed him around like a groupie. He was the star of the hockey team, and to that end, had teachers cutting him breaks in school. Not to mention, he really had his pick of any girl in the school.

But ever since Casey had shown up, it seemed like everything got so much _harder_. No one seemed to want to put up with his shit anymore. Now he had to answer to both his dad and Nora. Edwin had found a partner in crime in Lizzie. He didn't even know if his body would be recovered enough in time for hockey season. His teachers now seemed to expect the same work from him as they did from everyone else. And girls? Well they were still okay. But he had even grown tired of dealing with them.

And Casey! Freakin Casey. What was he supposed to do about this? Because whatever _this_ was- whatever had just happened- could never happen again. What was happening to him? Why couldn't he have just stopped those ridiculous thoughts and urges before they got to this point?

He realized he was pacing the room, mumbling to himself, so he stopped and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. It was only then that he realized that his hands were trembling. He glanced at them for a moment. _That's never happened before._ He shook them, as if to shake out the trembling, and stuffed them deep in his pockets, where they had no choice but to be still.

He walked back over to the stairs and sat down on the bottom step, his head in his hands. This had to stop now. He would do whatever he had to to get his head straight. But what was making him act like this? He was probably horny, but that was just a fact of life. But why _Casey_?

The accident. That was it. They were in the accident together, and it was stuck in his mind. It was a traumatic event after all, and her image had somehow gotten stuck in his brain. And apparently some not-so-hateful feelings for her had been shaken loose. But he was just overreacting. If he could get things to go back to the way they were before the accident, everything would be fine. He sat back and smiled slightly. He needed to start a fight.

Casey brushed her hair back into a tight ponytail, almost too tight. She hadn't slept well the night before, and the tension in her scalp helped to keep her awake.

She didn't know what to make of this Derek situation. It had to be all in her head. There was no way he would have been…._flirting_…with her. They are related, after all! He's not _that_ stupid. But she couldn't explain her reaction to his behavior. Because she had definitely felt things that you are not supposed to feel for family.

_It has to be because of the accident._

She must still feel over-emotional from the accident. She had been worried about Derek and his well-being, and apparently those caring feelings had gotten a little out of whack. Or maybe a lot out of whack. But either way, all she needed to do was to ignore this, and it would undoubtedly blow over. Just focus on what an _asshole_ Derek could be, and she would be back to normal in no time.

She ran down the stairs for breakfast. She walked into the kitchen, and was never more relieved to see her mother and Lizzie. They told her all about the Nutcracker the night before as Casey poured herself a bowl of cereal. It felt good, felt like the old days, when it was just the girls.

And then Derek and Edwin came crashing into the room; Edwin in a headlock receiving what was probably the umpteenth noogie of the poor boy's life.

"Derek, let your brother go so he can eat his breakfast." Nora said, not even glancing up from rifling through her briefcase on the counter. "Alright guys, behave, I'm off to work. Have a good day."

Derek watched as the girls and Edwin waved goodbye to Nora, and as soon as the door clicked into place behind her, he tackled Edwin into a headlock once again. Unfortunately, Edwin happened to be pouring milk on his cereal at the time. The carton flew out of his hand, crashed on the table, and a wave of milk spread across the table and into Casey's lap.

"Aaargh! Derek, what the hell?" The first words she had spoken to him since the night before. And yet the bastard had the nerve to stand there for a moment, his head tilted to the side and an obnoxious smirk on his face, before going back to attacking his poor little brother, as milk continued to pour from the jug all over the table, the floor, and Casey.

"You are _such_ an asshole." She huffed in frustration as she pushed back from the table and made her way back upstairs to change, leaving milky footprints in her wake.

_Apparently hating Derek is going to be a lot easier than I anticipated._

Derek watched her storm out of the room, and as soon as she was out of sight, he released Edwin. His little brother sprang back to a sitting position, rubbing his sore head.

"What is your deal, Derek?" Edwin asked, attempting to fix his horrendously tousled hair.

"No deal here, little bro, just thought it was time for things to get back to normal around here." Derek grabbed the carton of orange juice from the table and drank directly from it.

_Tormenting Casey is going to be much easier than I anticipated._ Then why did he have this nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach?

He placed the carton back on the table, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and grabbed his backpack from the corner. "Ed, clean this up." He commanded, motioning to the milky mess, and walked out of the room as Edwin and Lizzie exchanged a tortured glance.

Casey was NOT having a good day. All due to her nasty, evil stepbrother. First, it was the milk. She could let that slide. Well, no, she couldn't, but if that had been the _only _thing he had done to her today, it wouldn't be that bad. But no, apparently Derek had decided to make it his mission today to torment her.

Walking through the hallway after third period, he purposely knocked into her, dumping the armful of books she was carrying. And announced loudly to everyone in the hallway, "Aww, look, she's _still_ Klutzilla. I guess some things never change." He then purposely stepped all over her calculus homework, leaving it torn, wrinkled, and covered with dirty footprints. She could hear the snickering and saw the pointing fingers as she gathered all her things and headed to class.

Then, at lunch, she had gone up to the hockey table, because she had to ask Sam a question about a class they had together. She asked him the question, and Derek happened to notice her just as Sam started to answer her. "Hey! Casey, I don't remember you being asked to sit at this table."

She sighed in exasperation; "I'm just asking Sam a question, if that's quite alright with you. Trust me, I have no desire to sit here-"

"Oh _that's _right, "he continued loudly, "you _weren't_."

"Derek, shut up, you don't own this table." She said tersely, trying again to talk to Sam.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" Derek shouted, standing and waving his arms to get the attention of the lunchroom monitor.

Casey gave him a look, as if to say, "I cannot believe you're doing this."

"Excuse me, _sir_," Derek shouted across the room, drawing the attention of most of students in the busy cafeteria, " this young lady here is bothering my friend."

She could feel the blush prickling at the back of her neck, as it began to travel up to her face. She knew everyone in the room was looking at her.

"Casey, Sam does _not _want to have sex with you right here in the middle of the cafeteria!" Derek exclaimed with mock incredulity. The room burst into laughter as Casey's face burned with embarrassment.

"Derek…" Sam started, pulling on his friend's sleeve to get him to stop.

"Don't worry about it, Sam." Casey said softly. She turned to Derek's smug face and, struggling to keep her voice from breaking, said, "Why do you have to be such an asshole?" She grabbed her bag and walked past the tables of her whispering peers and out the cafeteria doors. As soon as she reached the hallway, she burst into tears and ran to the girls' bathroom. She chose a stall, closed the door behind her, and crumbled to the floor.

"Derek, man, that was not cool." Sam chided his friend.

"Whatever man, she had it coming." Derek mumbled. He watched Casey struggle to control her emotions as she made her escape.

He was really being hard on her today, he knew that. But yelling at Casey was what came naturally. At least when they were arguing, he didn't have to worry about any other problems between them. And, although he would never admit it, he loved arguing with Casey. She was the only person he knew who didn't shy away from yelling right back at him. They could argue for hours, and although it was incredibly frustrating, it was like some kind of sick game. Each of them wanted to have the last word.

Why, then, when she had looked at him with watery, questioning eyes just moments ago, had that feeling kicked him in the gut again? Tormenting Casey wasn't as fun when he got this kind of reaction.

The rest of the day passed agonizingly slowly. Casey wanted nothing more than to just go home and hide in her room, but she instead had to tough it out through all the looks, laughter, and snide comments she was receiving in all of her classes. And she was not looking forward to riding home with Derek. The ride to school that morning had been tense enough, after the milk incident, but she didn't know if she could stand to be in a small confined space with him for any amount of time without wringing his neck.

After school, she went to her locker, grabbed all the books she needed for the weekend, as well as her hat, coat, and gloves. She tried her hardest to ignore the obnoxious comments she heard as she passed by. She reached the doors and walked out towards the parking lot, putting on her gloves. And just as she looked up to walk over to Derek's car (actually, the ugly Volvo the dealership had loaned them until they replaced their totaled SUV.), she saw the car fly past her, Derek waving and revving the engine as he pulled away.

_That asshole._

Casey quickly pulled out her phone to try and catch Emily, "Em, where are you right now? Derek just ditched me in the parking lot."

"Oh no, I'm sorry, I've got a doctor's appointment." Emily said sympathetically, "Did he really just leave you? If you want to hang out there until my appointment's done, I can come pick you up then, but I think the secretary said they were running behind and it's really busy here and-"

"Don't worry about it Em, I'll figure something out."

"Okay, well, the offer's still open. Give me a call if you want me to come get you when I'm done."

"Thanks, Em."

Casey only had one other option, but she _really_ didn't want to ask Sam after the episode in the cafeteria earlier. She looked over and saw him walking with a crowd of people towards his car. She mustered up her courage, took a deep breath, and walked over to him.

"Sam?"

The whole group turned towards her, most of them raising their eyebrows and exchanging meaningful glances when she saw Casey approaching Sam. Sam's gaze flickered to them for a moment before looking back to her. "Hey Case, what's up?"

"Could you, um, give me a ride home?" She heard snickers from the surrounding group, but she decided not to give them the satisfaction of drawing her attention.

Sam hesitated. "Oh. Well, I was going to go to Alyssa's house," he gestured towards one of the girls in the crowd, who smiled smugly at Casey, "but I could drop you off on the way."

_Yeah, right. I'd rather walk home over hot coals._ "Um, no, don't worry about it, I'll just call Emily." Casey lied "Thanks anyway." She turned and started to walk away from them.

"Casey?"

She turned back towards Sam.

"I'm sorry about earlier- about Derek." Sam fidgeted with the sleeve of his jacket as he spoke.

Casey forced a smile, "Thanks, but don't apologize for him." She turned to walk back towards the school.

Casey waited inside the doorway, watching Sam and Alyssa get into his car and drive away. Once the rest of his cronies had left as well, Casey stepped outside, pulled her hat further over her ears, and started the walk home.

She could call her mother or George at work, but they would just worry, and she didn't want them to have to leave work just to pick her up. She also didn't want to have to endure another "family meeting" that would undoubtedly arise if they found out about Derek's behavior. She could handle this on her own.

Her house wasn't _that _away from the school, and she had walked it once before when she had to. But that was not in the snow, and with a wind chill that probably brought the temperature down into the teens. Her coat kept her warm enough, but her hat, scarf, and gloves that really should be keeping her extremities warm were really more for fashion than for function. Plus, her sneakers were not keeping her feet warm in the snow. She huddled into the jacket and braced herself against the wind, heading towards home.

But the further she walked, the angrier she became. This was the last straw. She didn't know the reason for Derek's sudden nasty behavior, but she had had it. Arguing and teasing was one thing, and she could handle that, but today he had just been downright evil. He had humiliated her in front of everyone for no good reason. Her reputation was already only dangling by a tenuous thread: the fact that she was his stepsister. But now he had taken care of that. She was back to being the annoying, dorky geek. But whatever, she could deal with that.

But first she would need to deal with Derek.

She finally reached home, after walking thirty minutes in freezing temperatures. She was freezing; she couldn't feel her fingers, and her shoes and jeans were soaking wet up to mid-calf. She walked into the house, slamming the door behind her. She slammed it with such force that she knocked a framed picture off the wall, shattering the glass. She glanced at this for only a moment, before turning to Lizzie who was sitting on the couch in the living room, looking warily at her older sister.

"Where is Derek?" Casey asked pointedly.

"He's…uh….upstairs. Is everything okay?"

Casey threw her bag, as well as her hat, scarf, and gloves, in a pile on the floor. She hung her coat on the rack, and removed her snow-caked sneakers before peeling off her soaking-wet socks and massaging her freezing cold toes. "It will be in a minute."

She stomped up the stairs, and threw open Derek's bedroom door without knocking. She found Derek and Edwin sitting on Derek's bed, a selection of video game magazines between them.

"Edwin. Out." Casey commanded, pointing towards the door.

Edwin shook his head. "No way. I'm tired of getting everyone's crap today. I can stay in here if I want-"

Casey tried her hardest not to drag him out by his ear. "Edwin, TRUST me, it would be in your best interest to leave. And close the door behind you."

Edwin took one look at the anger in her eyes, and high-tailed it out of there, shutting the door behind him.

Derek stood up, bracing himself for a good old-fashioned Casey/Derek argument. He had been waiting for this all day. He had hoped she would retaliate earlier in the cafeteria, but instead she had acted all sad. But now, as she stood in front of him, with her red, wind burned cheeks and her tousled hair, the spark was back in her eyes, and he knew that everything was about to get back to normal. "Hello Casey, it's so lovely of you to drop in-"

He was interrupted when Casey grabbed his shoulders and shoved him against his closet door. He was struck speechless for a moment at the fact that Casey actually had enough strength in her to shove him as hard as she just had. But the pain shooting through his side from his still-healing ribs took his breath away for a moment. He crumbled a little bit from the pain before straightening up again. "Jesus Christ, Case-"

The sound of a smack hung in the air, and Derek's head was knocked to the side from the force of Casey's hand against his cheek. He tenderly touched his fingers to his cheek, burning from the slap, as he looked at Casey in disbelief.

She stood no more than a foot away from him, her finger pointing mere inches away from his nose. "No. You do NOT get to pretend that I'm the bad guy. You do not get to act all innocent in this situation. What the hell is wrong with you today? Dumping milk all over me at breakfast? Humiliating me in front of everyone in school? And thanks for bringing Sam into it, that was really classy of you. What the hell did I do to you to deserve this? Why can't you just be a normal human being for once! You are just such a _fucking_ asshole. You think you can just get away with anything and everyone will just bow down to you. Well you know what? I will NEVER be one of those people, because I am a hell of a lot smarter that you. So you can keep playing your sick little games, but if you think you can break me by embarrassing me, or if you think you can get into my head by playing your flirtatious little games like you did last night, then you are SO wrong. Because frankly, I don't care what you think. I don't care what the hell you, or your stupid little friends, or anyone in this godforsaken little town thinks of me. Because I'm the one that will be laughing when you're pumping my gas ten years down the road. So if you think-"

Her screaming was cut off when Derek slammed his mouth against hers. She was on a roll, and kept mumbling against his mouth, before her brain seemed to shut down and she forgot every word in the English language. His hands grasped at her hair, pulling her head against his lips, as his tongue begged for entrance. As much as her head was screaming in protest, she opened her lips and let his tongue begin exploring her mouth.

She didn't even realize she was crying until she tasted the salt in their kiss. Her adrenaline was still running on high, and she responded to Derek's actions with equal ferocity. She ran her hand over his chest, grasping fistfuls of the front of his shirt. When that didn't have its desired affect, she tightened her grip on him and shoved him back against the door.

Derek groaned into her mouth as the pain shot through his side once again. But Casey's hands continued to roam over his body, until they found their way under the back of his shirt. The pleasure of her cold hands against his warm skin, combined with the pain of his ribs, was almost too much for him to handle. He grabbed her by the waist and led her backwards towards his bed. Her legs hitting the bed knocked her off balance and she fell onto her back. Derek climbed over her, and continued to ravage her mouth after those few moments of desperate separation.

His mouth moved from her lips, trailing wet kisses down her neck. She let out a whine as his lips began to suck at the base of her throat. His hands were roaming up and down the sides of her waist and over the stomach. She grabbed his head and directed him to continue his work. His trail of kisses continued, trailing down the neckline of her shirt.

"Derek, is everything okay in there?"

At the sound of Edwin's voice, Derek mumbled, "_Fuck!_" against Casey's chest, and pushed himself off of her, at the same time she was shoving him away from herself. He took a second to collect himself, catching his breath and getting his head on straight. "Yeah Ed, I'm….fine."

"Okay, well Lizzie and I are right downstairs if you need anything. As scary as it is to hear Casey yelling, it's even scarier when she gets quiet!"

They lay still there on the bed as the listened to Edwin walk back downstairs. Derek rubbed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts. Casey lay frozen, staring at the ceiling, attempting to do the same. The silence of the room was filled with the sounds of their still labored breathing.

After a moment, Casey jumped off of the bed, and backed towards the door in horror. She looked at Derek on the bed, but he seemed to be in a daze. "What did we do?"

Derek turned to look at her, but found he had no answers. He could only stare at her: her panicked eyes, her red, swollen lips (Oh God, he had done that!), her tear-stained cheeks, her chest still heaving from her labored breaths. She ran an unsteady hand through her hair, and turned to leave without another word.

As the door clicked into place behind her, Derek sat up and stared down at his shaking hands.

So much for getting things back to normal.


End file.
